Chapter 40 #2
“I didn’t write any vows,” I say. “I feel like this is where we should be saying our vows.” I raise the weapon and aim for the bloody spot, but I swing a bit wide and make a fresh gouge in his upper thigh.
Aven shakes his head and widens his stance. “Lass, watching you hack your father with an ax is the best vow you could have written. Actions sometimes speak louder than words.”
My mouth nearly waters as I watch him raise the ax.
My very own Paul Bunyan. He swings for all he’s worth, and the ax takes off one of Desmond’s arms at the shoulder.
Blood jets out, but Desmond only sees an opportunity.
With the removal of his left arm, his right is now free.
He unfastens the leg ropes, then reaches up to wrestle the ball gag from his mouth before rising to his full height and stumbling forward.
All the while, his dismembered arm dangles from the rope tied to his other wrist.
Unfortunately for him, that hack job I did on his leg prevents him from getting very far, and he collapses before he even reaches the doorway.
He spins onto his back with a whimper as the mob approaches. Aven and I stand at the head, both of us wielding our bloody axes as if we’ve been possessed by Lizzie Borden. Forty whacks wouldn’t be nearly enough for this asshole.
“Any last words?” I say as I stand over him. “You were kind enough to offer me that, so I figure I should do the same.”
“Fuck you.” He spits at my feet.
Aven raises his boot and brings it down on Desmond’s teeth, reducing them to picket fences after a fight with a car. “You want to finish him off?”
I shake my head. “I don’t need that for closure. I’ve gotten everything I wanted, and that’s the best sort of revenge.”
“Aye, you’re right.” Aven pulls me in for a kiss. “Let’s give the honor to someone else.”
“Could I try?” a small voice says.
Everyone’s heads whip toward the entrance. We’re all shocked to see Gary standing there.
“Gary?” Frankie says. “You want to kill Desmond? What about your blood phobia?”
The tiny man licks his lips and takes a timid step forward. “I’m trying to get over it, but I think I just need to toss myself into the deep end. Can I . . . kill him?”
I offer my ax to him. “You have my blessing.”
“And mine,” Aven says.
Gary eyes the ax and shakes his head. “I don’t think I can use an ax.”
I remember the gun in my pocket and push it into his hand with a grin. “Try this, Gary.”
“No,” Desmond says. He repeats the word, starting at a whisper and rising to a scream. “You can’t let some nobody kill me!”
“Honey, that isn’t a nobody,” Eve shouts from the back. “That’s Gare Bear, and you’d better say his name with a little respect next time.”
“There won’t be a next time,” Gary says with an evil smile. Well, as evil as he can muster for a tiny little balding man with bug eyes and a dented skull. God bless him.
He raises the weapon and fires. Unfortunately, the bullet misses Desmond’s skull and lodges somewhere in the floor.
“It’s okay,” Maverick says, encouraging him. “Take your time, Gare Bear.”
He nods and fires again. This time, the bullet punches through Desmond’s gut.
Grim takes Rosie’s hand and leads her out of the room, ever the impatient one.
“I’ll get it this time,” Gary says, determined.
And he does. When he fires the weapon again, Desmond’s head rocks to the side as a vacancy sign slams over his eyes. The lights are still on, but no one is home. His chest heaves a few more times, weaker and weaker, and then he’s gone.
The group breaks into applause, and everyone claps Gary on the back for a job well done. The wedding is all but forgotten until Jim brings us back to the reason we’re all here.
“I won’t make everyone line up, but I still want to introduce the new couple for the first time. Exchange your rings.”
This is the moment we’ve been waiting for.
The moment we learn what our new last names will be.
It was risky, letting Jim secretly fill out the forms so it would be a surprise, but he promised it wouldn’t be Madigan or Butts or Slade.
Our hands are shaking as we slide the rings onto each other’s fingers, both of us eager to learn our fate.
“Aven, you may kiss your bride.” Jim looks like he’s about to explode with anticipation for whatever he has in store. “Go on! Pucker up! I can’t announce you until you do!”
Aven pulls me into him, and everyone erupts in another round of cheers as we seal the deal over my father’s corpse. It’s poetic, really.
“Everyone, I’m pleased to announce . . . the Carters!” Jim claps his hands, but he’s the only one. Everyone else just stops and stares.
The happiness drains from Aven’s face. “Jim, you cannae just give us the name we want. That’s their heritage, and I won’t steal it.” He motions to Ezra, Bennett, and Frankie.
“Fuck it,” Bennett says. “You’re as much a brother to us as anyone else. I don’t care if you take the last name. I want you to.”
“I second that,” Ezra offers. “Family is about more than DNA, Aven. You’re both family to us now.”
Frankie raises her finger. “I’ve only just recently learned that I’m related to these idiots, but I welcome one more. Please accept, Aven.”
Jim finally butts in with a fit of laughter.
He shakes his head and holds out his hands, and we patiently wait for him to quiet enough to explain the punchline.
“No, no, no. You don’t understand. Aven, your last name is Carter and always has been.
The man you believed to be your father was impotent. That’s why he knew you weren’t his.”
“It’s true,” King says. “Your mother had a momentary night of weakness that resulted in your conception. I’m sorry we kept it from you, but the simulation predicted that this was the best way to get you to stick around.
If we’d told you everything from the moment we knew the truth, you’d have run off. ”
I smile up at Aven and brush my thumb over his cheek. “And here I thought our relationship was fate.”
“Well, now that everything’s out in the open, we’d best clear out so that these two can enjoy the park alone,” Jim says. “There’ll be time for a family reunion later.”
Understanding Aven’s need for solitude, they start heading for the door.
“No,” Aven says, and everyone stops to look at him. “We don’t need to be alone. I’ve spent too much time in isolation. If I’m part of this fucked-up family, then I want to start acting like it. I want everyone to enjoy the park tonight. With us.”
My cheeks ache from how wide I’m smiling when he looks down at me. My heart is full to bursting.
“Well, then I suggest everyone get outside,” Jim says. “I have one more surprise in store.”
We hurry out of the building and into the cool evening air.
Starlight twinkles above, and only a few hazy clouds mar the night sky.
Jim says something into his radio, and the park lights shut off.
We’re doused in darkness. The moment is eerily familiar, and that creepy déjà vu feeling isn’t helping set me at ease.
Seconds later, the sky explodes with color and light. Fireworks pop and hiss overhead as everyone oohs and ahhs. Everyone but me. My heart rate is currently climbing toward tachycardia as I feel my mother’s ghostly hand slipping away from me again.
But then a real hand slips into mine. One that is warm and alive. A hand that won’t let go. It squeezes mine with a pressure that says, You are safe, lass.
I finally smile up at the fireworks. Aye, I am.